A nice playdate

We had Beth’s friend Erin over for a playdate on Saturday. We had lunch then went off to see Gnomeo and Juliet at the movies. Not a bad movie, the kids seemed to enjoy it. Beth was so cute, as we were walking along she was pointing out things to Erin. “This is where they chain up their bikes Erin, this is the water fountain that we drink from Erin.” After the movie we had hot chocolates and milkshakes as has become our custom.

When we got home things were a bit different. Beth finds it difficult to understand that friends do what each other want to do. It’s not all about her. We walked in the door and Beth said “Let’s watch Shark Tales now Erin.” Erin must have said that she didn’t want to watch Shark Tales. I called Beth out of her room and explained that she needed to do what Erin wanted as she was our guest. Beth’s response was that no, as it was her house, Erin needed to do what Beth wanted! She kept asking Erin what movie she wanted and Erin clearly didn’t want to watch a movie. I could hear Beth’s voice rising higher and higher as things like “Right, I’ve made a decision, we’ll watch Shark Tales” started to be yelled in a high pitched voice. I called her out again and told her in no uncertain terms that if she kept insisting that her guests do what she wanted then they wouldn’t want to come for a play anymore. I told her that I wouldn’t invite them either as that wouldn’t be fair on them. To her credit she took it on board and went back to playing nicely with Erin and Bridie.

After a while Bridie, Bill and Erin played on the Wii and Beth played on her DSi. Her and Erin made lots of recordable noises too, playing them back in different modes such as a high pitched squeak or in robot speak. They all had fun which was the main thing. It did however show me so clearly how difficult it is for our kids to understand social situations. Beth’s version of having a friend over is watching a dvd or them watching her playing a game, she still hasn’t quite mastered the art of back and forth. Small steps though, she certainly enjoyed herself and I think Erin did too.

About Sarah

Mother of an autistic child wanting to write about my personal experiences
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